Missouri Department of Conservation Runge Nature Center
9:30 – 11:00.
Attendance: Ryan Burson, Lew Davison, Edd Brown, Mike Benzen, Tony Spicci, Steve Stoveall (for Ron Beck), and Tim Haithcoat

Agenda

1. Introductions
2. Presentation and discussion of minutes
3. Discussion of 2nd Annual GIS Conference
4. Discussion of USGS-FGDC Initiatives – FDPP and CCAP proposals
5. Workplan discussion

Ryan Burson read through the minutes of the December 19, 1996 meeting of the Missouri GIS Advisory Committee. There were no corrections nor additions to the minutes and they were approved as read.

Mike Benzen then shared the status of tasks in the Office of Information Technology. He addressed five specific areas.

1. Data Center consolidation. The consolidation of Social Services and Office of Administration mainframes went well (November 1, 1996) and is expected to save $4 million.
   Labor and the Highway Patrol are expected to be consolidated into the State Data Center in July of 1997. Then the Department of Transportation will be merged and consolidation will be done.
2. Network Planning. Southwest Bell won the bid. In four months they are expected to have an assessment of network needs and bandwidth requirements for Missouri State Government.
3. Prime Vendor. Benzen explained how the prices will now follow the market and that there will be no more bidding. Prices will be posted on the web so there will not be a paper catalog to keep updated. There were some initial problems with the web site but it is getting better now. They are continuing monthly meetings with the contractor and he stated that they have been exceptionally cooperative.
4. Year 2000 – Legacy. The state has between 50 and 55 million lines of code that needs changed. He stated that nationwide it will cost approximately $300 billion. The scope of the problem was initially underestimated, but after an independent assessment of the state’s programs, calculations indicated that it will take 1 million hours of labor to correct the problem for the state. The state will cover 1/3 with existing staff but the other 2/3 will need to be handled by contractors. The bill to Missouri will be approximately $57 million.
5. Recruiting Technology People. The state has 80-100 positions open in the Information Technology area. Missouri is trying to ‘grow its own,’ and has created a coalition of government, private, and educational institutions to meet this growing need. The coalition is trying to sell technology careers not state agency jobs. They have found that within the existing workforce the workers most easily retained are those with family and roots in the area.

Haithcoat gave a quick rundown on the status of the 2nd Annual Missouri State GIS Conference. We have received some abstracts for talks (11) and have some response to the call for posters as well (6). The abstracts deadline is past but some are still coming in. A preliminary program is planned for a mid-February mailing. Mike Benzen offered to speak at the conference again this year.

Burson and Davison then explained the status of the Federal Geographic Data Committee – Framework Demonstration Project Program – Phase I draft proposal. MoDOT is the lead agency and would be receiving the money if chosen. Phase I allows the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) a chance to respond to these ideas to enable a stronger proposal to be submitted during the Phase II process. The initial proposal was delivered to Washington DC on January 16, 1997.

Haithcoat provided each committee member with a copy of the first draft of the Competitive Cooperative Agreements Program (CCAP) proposal being submitted by the MSDIS for comments and criticisms. Committee members agreed to send comments back to Haithcoat prior to their next meeting as the final proposal is due February 28, 1997.

MGISAC/MSDIS Workplan Status: Tasks have been ascribed to goals, but more details are needed to identify specific deliverables and completion dates. Burson will take the second draft of the workplan provided by Haithcoat and work up a more detailed draft for consideration at the next meeting.

Burson will be in contact with MGISAC members to set the time and location of our next meeting. Haithcoat requested that it be held prior to the February 28, 1997 deadline for the CCAP proposal so all comments and discussion can take place concerning the proposal. Ryan also announced that the next Mid-America GIS Consortium meeting was to be held on February 20, 1997 in Olathe, KS.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:05.